Advent: Explorers of Boundaries

Chapter 41: Frozen Chaos

As Alex stepped into the chaotic scene of Treasure Town, he was immediately thrust into a world of madness. The absence of Time had driven many Pokémon to the brink, their sanity slipping as they resorted to rioting and fighting among themselves.

The once peaceful streets of Treasure Town were now a battleground, with clashes erupting between frantic residents. Alex felt helpless at the sight, wishing he could quell the unrest but knowing his priority lay elsewhere.

Amidst the chaos, a familiar voice rang out—a cry for help that stirred something within Alex's heart. It had been a while since he last saw her, but he recognized the voice immediately. With determination renewed, Alex turned towards the source of the distress call.

As Alex rushed in to intervene, he witnessed a harrowing scene—a Crawdaunt aggressively attacking Melissa, who is now a Braixen. To add to the chaos, a bolt of lightning from a Manectric struck the Crawdaunt, causing him to faint.

Relieved to see that someone was already coming to Melissa's aid, Alex was ready to depart. However, what transpired next left him speechless, though not in a negative way. As the tense situation resolved, Melissa and the Manectric shared a heartfelt moment, culminating in a surprising kiss.

A bittersweet smile crossed Alex's face as he watched from a distance. "Things really do change," he murmured to himself, genuinely happy for Melissa and her love. With a sense of closure, Alex quietly slipped away from the scene, careful not to draw any unnecessary attention.

As he continued his quest to locate and free the Lake Trio, Alex couldn't shake off the feeling of being torn between the chaos around him and his mission to restore order and sanity to the world that had descended into madness, much like the cult of Darkness.

***

As things were with Time, rendering non-living entities useless, chaos erupted as modes of transportation ground to a halt. The Internet ceased to function, leaving screens frozen on their last display. Phones, once lifelines, became mere paperweights, frozen in time. 

Among the unfortunate, some phones displayed compromising or embarrassing messages, inadvertently exposing secrets. Spouses stumbled upon incriminating evidence, while others faced equally awkward situations.

Caught amidst the turmoil, Alex found himself lost in the chaotic frenzy of a world turned upside down. With transportation paralyzed and communication pathways severed, navigating the rioting Pokémon and the frozen world around him proved to be a daunting challenge.

As Alex moved through the frozen chaos, each passing moment felt like an eternity yet also a fleeting whisper in the void of Time. His sleep cycle, once a structured rhythm, now danced to an erratic tune dictated by the unpredictable whims of this timeless world. Leaving him with a disoriented sense of time that seemed to warp and bend like the frozen reality around him.

Taking a bite from an Oran Berry, its once vibrant hue now dulled to a lifeless grey, Alex couldn't help but marvel at how even the most mundane aspects of life had been affected by Time's absence. Yet, amidst this desolate landscape, the familiar taste of the berry provided a small comfort, a fleeting reminder of the vibrant world that once was.

As he sat beneath a frozen tree, Alex's gaze wandered to the sky, a canvas of grey that stretched endlessly above him. Thoughts of his guildmates back at Altaria Guild flooded his mind. Were they weathering the chaos? Were they safe amidst the frozen turmoil? The uncertainty gnawed at him, a silent worry that lingered in the back of his mind.

His thoughts then turned to Elton, a complex mix of emotions swirling within him. Despite the harsh words and the rift that had formed between them, memories of their shared adventures and camaraderie tugged at Alex's heartstrings. There was a longing for things to be as they once were, a yearning for the friendship that had once felt unbreakable.